It took only two vicious uppercuts midway through the eighth round for 23 year old Devon Alexander (20-0, 13 KOs) to defeat Juan Urango (22-3-1, 17 KOs) and unify the WBC and IBF 140 pound titles on Saturday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT. Time of the stoppage by referee Benji Estedes was at 1:12 of round eight. Alexander was quicker to the punch throughout as Urango did his best to try and combat the speed of his opponent. Urango did his best to brawl when given the opportunity however Alexander used his footwork to get away from these exchanges as he out-boxed the brawler. The fight card was promoted by Don King Promotions and was televised live on HBO’s Boxing After Dark.

Alexander, in his last bout, defeated Junior Witter to capture the vacant WBC title back in August and for the second straight fight can add the IBF title to his collection. For Urango, this was the second consecutive fight that he has been knocked down. In his last bout against Randall Bailey, Urango came up off of the canvas to score a spectacular stoppage in the eleventh round back in August to capture the IBF title. This time however Urango wasn’t given the same opportunity against Alexander.

In the first round Urango started out firing with a strong right hook. This was quickly met with a left followed by a right uppercut for Alexander. Towards the end of the first round, Urango landed a strong right hook that got the attention of Alexander.

Alexander came right back in the second round landing a flurry of punches to the ribs of Urango. He also again connected with a nice uppercut and right hand at the end of the round that had Urango back peddling.

Urango who was bleeding from the nose in the third round seemed un-phased as he kept coming right at Alexander. Alexander stands right in the center of the ring and trades punches with Urango which gives Urango the opportunity to land with his right hand. Afterwards when asked what his trainer Kevin Cunningham told him in the corner, Alexander said, “He told me to stay focused because when I see blood that is when I want to go at it and take him out. He told me to stay focused and stick to the game plan and you will take his IBF belt and I did.”

Alexander took the advice of his coach and began moving more and landing more shots as Urango was unable to keep up with the pace of Alexander’s punches. Both fighters at the end of the round were able to land an exchange of punches as neither fighter wanted to give up any round on the judges’ scorecards not knowing until a few rounds later that the cards would not matter.

By round five, Alexander was continuing to lead in with his jab and setup the uppercut that consistently landed to the jaw of Urango. Urango appeared to be more aggressive as the rounds went on but he continued to get outclassed by Alexander. The former IBF titlist continued to throw punches that were off the mark, while Alexander was able to effectively use his speed to counter and land on Urango.

Alexander was asked after the fight about getting hit from Urango during the middle rounds of the fight. He responded by saying “He started hitting me and my coach told me that isn’t the game plan for you to stand right there in front of him. He can only hit me if he plants his feet. As long as I am moving he won’t be able to touch me and if I stick to the game plan that I will come out on top and that is what I did.”

Urango continued to throw big wide hooks in round six and seven as he was off balance by the speed of Alexander. Alexander landed the quick jab and continued to follow it up with combinations. Urango gave Alexander a fight as he continued to land big shots on Alexander, who displayed a solid chin in the performance.

When asked if Urango’s punching power posed any threat to him, Alexander responded by saying, “no his punches did not hurt and I was surprised because Urango is known for being one of the hardest punchers in the 140 pound weight class.”

Early in the eighth round Alexander landed a phenomenal counter right hook on Urango and his opponent found himself with his back on the canvas. Urango was able to get to his feet before the count of eight. When asked about the punch that put Urango on his back for the first time in the contest, Alexander said. “That is the left hand and the uppercut. That is the punch that we worked on the entire camp.” Once Urango got up from the first knockdown, he was quickly met with another uppercut from Alexander and found himself back on the canvas for the second and final time. Although Urango was able to get up once again, referee Benji Estedes had seen enough as Urango seemed out on his feet and called a stop to the fight.

In the co-feature attraction of the evening, New York prospect and current WBC USNBC heavyweight titlist, Derric Rossy scored a convincing unanimous decision victory over veteran Zack Page by scores of 117-110, 120-107, and 118-109. Rossy used a little bit of everything in this fight as he had a height and reach advantage over Page. Rossy went on to out-land and frustrate Page throughout the contest en route to the twelve round decision.

Rossy worked his jab and caught Page with a barrage of power punches that backed his opponent into the ropes. A big left from Rossy hurt Page early as he fired off a bunch of punches that signaled he was hurt. Rossy stunned Page again towards the end of round two with a left hand that had him backing away as the round came to a close.

Rossy continued to fire punches from a safe distance in round three. Page, who has only been stopped twice in his professional career, is trying to fight in close on Rossy. Page did not get much success fighting in close as Rossy was able to smartly tie him up whenever he got in on the inside.

As the rounds progressed and Rossy appeared to get more and more tired, Page was able to get in and fight on the inside landing to the body of Rossy. Page had some success landing to the body of Rossy, while Rossy when he was able to get away, and continued to land from the outside.

In the sixth round Rossy landed a nice right uppercut that sent Page to the canvas, Page was able to recover and continue the fight while Rossy seemed frustrated after the round was over that he did not do enough to get the durable Page out of the fight.

Page recovered and continued the battle in the seventh round as he continued to fight on the inside. Rossy continued to get the better of the exchanges throughout the remainder of the fight. They both seemed to be tentative in the later rounds to throw punches as neither fighter wanted to make a mistake.

Rossy in the final round left off where he started as he went right his opponent as he landed four straight jabs to the head of Page. He continued to fire punches keeping a good distance away from Page. In the end, all of Rossy’s hard work paid off as he walked away with a unanimous decision victory over a game ring veteran.

Coyne Decisions Jennette

Cruiserweight Ryan Coyne (14-0-0-1ND, 4 KOs) scored an eight round unanimous decision victory over North Carolina’s Paul Jennette. Scores of the bout were 77-75 twice and 78-74. Coyne stunned Jennette in the third round with a flurry of hooks however Jennette was able to weather the storm. He had Jennette backed against the ropes and got the better of the exchange. Coyne went to work with hooks on the body of Jennette and broke him down in the later rounds to secure the narrow victory.

Hope Decisions Navarro

South Carolina’s James Hope (5-4, 4 KOs) fought with lots of hope and promise as he battered and bruised Andres Navarro (4-3-1, 4 KOs) over four rounds to take the unanimous decision victory by scores of 40-36 on all three judges’ scorecards. From the opening bell to the final bell, Hope threw nothing but hooks at his opponent and was successful at landing them. Navarro was not active enough during the middle rounds of the bout as Hope consistently landed to the body and head of his opponent, punches which Navarro had no answer for.

Braithwaite Destroys Harris

Former cruiserweight world champion, Wayne Braithwaite made quick work of Adam Harris as he knocked him out at 2:59 of the very first round. Braithwaite and Harris traded jabs early in the round. Braithwaite was then able to land combinations on Harris for which Harris did not have an answer. Finally at the end of the first, Braithwaite landed three straight left hands that sent Harris to the canvas. Referee Richard Flaherty then reached the count of ten giving Braithwaite the knockout victory. Braithwaite improves his mark to (24-4, 20 KOs) while Harris (10-3, 7 KOs) takes just the third loss of his professional career.

In Other Action:

Antonio Sanchez (2-0-1, 2 KOs) and Calvin Pritchard (0-1-2) fought to a draw after four rounds. Scores of the bout were 39-37 for Sanchez, 39-37 for Pritchard, and 38-38 draw.

Angelo Santana (8-0, 4 KOs) knocked down his opponent, Darien Ford (11-19-0-2NC, 4 KOs), three times en route to a fourth round TKO at 2:59 as referee Arthur Mercante, Jr. had seen enough and called a halt to the action. Santana beat Ford to the punch during most of the exchanges as he controlled the bout from start to finish.